Two years ago this week, my husband and I landed in Costa Rica to start our grand adventure of living a nomadic lifestyle traveling from place to place throughout Central America. We had sold our house, our cars, and all of our belongings. It was just the two of us and six suitcases. (Our two dogs would arrive a few days later.) It was hard to believe, but it was actually happening! Day 1 of Nomadic Nikki (and Brian)!
As our first stop, we chose a little town called Ojochal in the Costa Ballena region, a place where the Pacific Ocean meets the jungle. We were going to stay there for two and a half months and then move on to Panama and Nicaragua. I wanted to see it all!!!
Two years later, we are still in the same place in Costa Rica. We never left. No Panama, no Nicaragua. Instead of a nomadic life, we now cannot travel anywhere for more than a day together. I haven’t written in my travel blog for ages or done any freelance work of note recently. I’m often busy and sometimes super stressed. I don’t keep in touch with people nearly as often as I mean to do.
This did not go as I planned.
And that’s okay…Actually, it’s pretty awesome.
We can’t travel because we now have six dogs – our two dogs that came with us (Buddy and Nita), plus four others that we rescued here in Costa Rica and couldn’t bear to part with (Perezosa, Maddie, Rocco, and Ben). And I love them so much. Staying home doesn’t seem like much of a sacrifice.
I haven’t been writing because it didn’t feel like what I was supposed to be doing. Instead, I found a calling in animal rescue – something that for the first time I felt incredibly passionate about, that is deeply meaningful and important to me, and that genuinely makes the world a better place. It’s what I do every day, what I wake up thinking about, what I think about as I lie in bed at night, and even what I dream about. It is difficult and stressful and heartbreaking, but also beautiful and fun and rewarding. It is one of the great joys of my life that I am able to do this. I’ve found myself at the helm of an animal rescue organization called El RefUgio Costa Ballena, and now I am consumed by how to navigate it into its next chapter, getting it fully up on its own two feet and expanding it even further toward the dream and vision of what it can be. It is intimidating, and yet I can see clearly how it can be done and know I am up to the challenge.
I don’t keep in touch with everyone as much as I should because there are so many people to keep in touch with in my life these days. I can’t even run simple errands without running into people I know anymore. I stop to talk with people I know in town, work with people from the animal rescue, and visit with friends at events and local hangouts. I’ve made such amazing friends in this whole process. When I thought about traveling, I assumed I’d meet some interesting people. I never expected how many of them there would be! Nor did I expect the quality or depth of friendships I would have with many of them, or that they would become like a family to me.
I’ve also found an even deeper connection with my husband. He is my rock. He supports me on the days I feel overwhelmed, encourages me in difficult situations, and always makes sure that I am taken care of. He shares in my joys and my sorrows, heartbreaks and successes. We work together toward our common goals, especially our animal rescue efforts. We are proud of each other, and we value and respect each other. We spend most of our time together, but we never seem to get tired of each other. And we laugh a lot.
I started this journey looking for adventure, for something new, for something extraordinary. And I have most certainly found it. But it doesn’t look like I thought it would. I thought it would look like exploring new cities and seeing sights that I’d seen in books as a kid but never believed I would see in person.
And while those things are true, they’re not the most extraordinary part of what I’ve found. The extraordinary part is that I found myself. I found confidence, passion, meaning, and peace. I found that I’m even more capable than I thought, more level-headed than I gave myself credit for, and more comfortable in being a leader than I expected. I’m proud of who I am, what I am doing, and where I am going. I’ve found my center.
The last two years have been amazing. Things have unfolded in a way that I never would have imagined. My life is fuller, richer, and more meaningful. It’s not always exciting, it’s sometimes uncomfortable, and it’s often a little chaotic. It’s definitely not for everyone. But it’s perfect for me. I look forward to what the next two years of this adventure will bring.
